Raed Al Karmi (died 14 January 2002) was a leading member of the Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.[1] He was reportedly responsible for the killing of two Israeli settlers in Tulkarem in 2001.[2] Israel also accused him of being related to the death of eight other Israelis.[2]
Al Karmi was the target of missiles by Israeli forces in September 2001 and survived the attack.[2] However, two people he was riding with were killed.[2] Karmi was assassinated by Israel in Tulkarem on 14 January 2002 in a bombing near his home.[3][4]
Following the assassination of Al Karmi Fatah restarted the suicide bombings which had been stopped since 11 September 2001.[5] Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, attempted to dissolve the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades to end these attacks, but Arafat's initiative was not supported and materialized.[5] Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, the Israeli defense minister of the period, stated that he warned the Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that if they would kill Al Karmi, it would end the ceasefire.[1][6] However, Sharon insisted that Al Karmi should be eliminated as soon as possible.[1]
A street in his hometown, Tulkarem, was named after him in 2015.[7]